VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

More Than Just a Volunteer:

Land Steward and Easement Monitor Bob Mann

By Emily Landy

Robert “Bob” Mann grew up in Amesbury, Mass., along the banks of the Merrimack River, but has lived in New Hampshire since 1975. As a child in the 1950s, Mann spent a lot of time outdoors with his friends. Not much was off-limits for them, except the Merrimack River, which was considered toxic due to the amount of raw sewage and pollutants that were dumped into it. “We were given clear instructions not to play in the water [by] every adult who was aware of what happened when you flushed a toilet and where it went, ” he notes. “Such was the state of environmental concerns in the 1950s, and it was clear even then that things had to change for the better. ”

Growing up during a time when many rivers across the U.S. were treated as open sewers, and experiencing it first hand with the Merrimack, Mann was inspired to work in the environmental field. In the beginning of his career, he spent two years with the Peace Corps working on water projects, and he says that he has been in a “groove” ever since. This led him to work as a civil engineer, including for the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, and later in life he joined his local conservation commission in Chichester, N.H., where he has served as chair for the last 20 years. Now retired, Mann has more time to hike, bike, and shore up his 1840s era New England farmhouse and barn, which he says has been a multidecade hobby of necessity. Around 10 years ago, Mann began volunteering for the Forest Society. “My family and I have admired the work and mission of the Forest Society for decades and saw that giving some time in the outdoors was a good use of my time, ” he says.

Every year, Mann monitors five conservation easements through the Forest Society’s Volunteer Easement Monitoring Program (VEMP). Mann has also adopted a Forest Society reservation through the Land Steward Program which he visits annually to conduct stewardship activities and serve as a local ambassador for the program. When asked about what the most important aspects of working and volunteering in the environmental field are, Mann says he “thinks the key in any environmental work is to achieve some public support for long-term protection of our natural resources. These are resources that, once lost, aren't coming back in many cases. [The] stewardship of open spaces is one of those areas where public support is vital. ” In March 2021, Forest Society Easement Steward Emily Landry caught up with Mann to learn a little more about his volunteer experience.

Bob Mann

What’s one thing you learned as a volunteer that you did not know previously?

As an old school map-and-compass type, I enjoyed the Forest Society’s VEMP training, which updated my old disused skills. With the adoption of digital tracking in the VEMP program, I was forced to go beyond flip phones and into the new world of hand-held GPS. That is a major transition for any map-toting geezer! Thanks to [Forest Society Land Steward & Volunteer Coordinator] Zach Pearo, I didn’t totally mess it up.

What’s your favorite part of volunteering for the Forest Society?

The food at the annual volunteer dinner is second only to the satisfaction of contributing [to the Forest Society’s mission] with a bunch of like-minded volunteers.

Do you have a favorite reservation or conservation easement property?

Each reservation has its own unique features, but I do have a special soft spot for the properties around Mount Kearsarge and Mount Monadnock.

Did the pandemic impact your monitoring visits this year?

Actually, I welcomed the social restrictions as one more reason to take to the outdoors. Social distancing is all the easier in the woods!

What do you most appreciate about the volunteer programs?

From the outside, it appears that the Forest Society’s volunteer programs provide a great way for the organization to leverage people power to monitor its properties. The training that the Forest Society provides is a great way to get everyone on the same page. All of the staff I have met have been super-friendly and helpful for those of us chipping in.

Emily Landry is an easement steward for the Forest Society.

The Forest Society thanks our business partners for their generous support

Summit Circle ($5,000 and up)

Asplundh Tree Expert Company BCM Environmental & Land Law, PLLC Ed Reilly Subaru Event Builders, LLC Merrimack County Savings Bank Seaboard International Forest Products, LLC Whalen Public & Media Relations, LLC Trustees’ Circle ($2,500 to $4,999)

Northeast Delta Dental The Secret Agency, LLC President’s Circle ($1,000 to $2,499)

Bangor Savings Bank Checkmate Payroll Services Chinburg Properties Garden Life, LLC GMEC, Inc. Lumbard & Kellner, LLC Mulligan Forest, LLC New England Private Wealth Advisors, LLC Northland Forest Products, Inc. Peabody & Smith Realty, Inc. Ransmeier & Spellman, P.C. Rockywold-Deephaven Camps, Inc. SCM Associates, Inc. Target Corporation Steward ($750 to $999)

EOS Research Partner ($500 to $749)

Arcomm Communications Corporation Bronnenberg Logging & Trucking, LLC Capitol Craftsman, LLC Carlisle Wide Plank Floors, Inc. Devine, Millimet & Branch, P.A. Durgin and Crowell Lumber Co., Inc. Gunstock Mountain Resort Half Moon Enterprises LockNLube The Lyme Timber Company LP Mallory Portraits Meadowsend Timberlands Ltd. The Music Mill Pine Springs R.M. Piper, Inc. Samyn-d’Elia Architects, P.A. Zambon Brothers Logging Colleague ($250 to $499)

57Hours Aesthetic Dental Center Altus Engineering Ambit Engineering, Inc. Black North, LLC Blaktop, Inc. Cersosimo Lumber Co., Inc. Fuller’s Sugarhouse, LLC Great Brook Veterinary Clinic, LLC Innovative Natural Resource Solutions, LLC Kel-Log, Inc. Kozikowski Properties, LLC Lenk Orthodontics Limington Lumber Company New England Biolabs, Inc. New England Flower Farms North Woodlands, Inc. Parade Properties River’s Bend Woodworking Studio, LLC Shoppe1921 Sunset Park Campground Tri-State Iron Works, Inc. Twin State Sand & Gravel Co., Inc. Whole Wealth Management, LLC Matching Gift Companies

AARP ADP Aetna Foundation Allegro MicroSystems, LLC American Biltrite Charitable Trust American International Group, Inc. America’s Charities Ameriprise Financial Employee Gift

Matching Program Amica Companies Foundation Autodesk Foundation Automatic Data Processing, Inc. Bank of America The Boeing Company Bose Corporation Boston Scientific CA, Inc. Matching Gifts Program Cadence Design Systems, Inc. Chevron Human Energy Chroma Technology Corp. Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation, Inc. Crestwood Advisors Dell Employee Giving Program Erie Insurance ExxonMobil Foundation Matching Gift Companies (continued)

Facebook, Inc. FM Global Foundation Gartner, Inc. General Electric Google, LLC Graham Holdings Company Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company Grove Street Fiduciary, Inc. Hewlett Packard Company Foundation The Home Depot Foundation Honeywell International, Inc. IBM Corporation Intel Corporation Jefferies, LLC John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated JP Morgan Chase Foundation Liberty Mutual Insurance Lincoln Financial Group Foundation Lumina Foundation for Education Markem-Imaje Corporation MassMutual McKinsey & Company Medtronic Merck Partnership for Giving Meredith Corporation Microsoft Matching Gifts Program MilliporeSigma Motorola Solutions MSD Capital National Grid The Norfolk & Dedham Group Novartis Nuance Foundation, Inc. Oracle Corporation OSR Open Systems Resources, Inc. PayPal Giving Fund Pfizer, Inc. Premier, Inc. Riverstone Resources, LLC SAP Software Solutions Seaboard International Forest Products, LLC Shell Oil Company TD Ameritrade Matching Gifts Program Textron Matching Gift Program The Travelers Companies, Inc. TriPyramid Structures, Inc. UnitedHealth Group UNUM Matching Gifts Program Verizon Foundation The Vertex Foundation Waters Corporation

We are grateful to the many businesses that support the Forest Society with gifts of less than $250. The Forest Society…Where Conservation and Business Meet

For information about business memberships, or to initiate a gift membership program for your clients or employees, please contact Anne Truslow at (603) 224-9945 or atruslow@forestsociety.org.